For many years there has been a developing interest in swimming appliances and aids. Particular attention has been given by swimmers to the design and development of foot gear for use in swimming. One approach to increasing the forward push or thrusting action obtainable from a swimmers legs and feet has been the provision of swimming shoes. Swimming shoes of one general type have lateral wings that swing outwardly into the plane of the shoe's sole during the push or thrust portion of a stroke of the swimmer's leg and that swing toward each other and reside rearwardly of the borders of the shoe sole during the forward or retracting portion of the swimmer's leg stroke so that little or no resisting surfaces of the wings are presented to the water during this movement of the swimming stroke. Examples of this form of swimmer's foot gear are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,043,776 granted to G. M. Larson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,506,885 granted to A. Cech and U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,541 granted to J. P. LaRosa. Each of these patents show devices that include swimming shoes that are affixed to a central board or platform with the side wings hinged to the edges thereof. Each patent also shows a means for inhibiting the outward swing of the wings beyond their thrust orientation in the plane of the sole of the swimming shoe or in the plane of the central board or platform to which the shoe is affixed. The swimming shoe devices of the above noted patents are heavy, cumbersome and unwieldly and they include thrust wings on the inside of the swimmer's feet which frequently come into contact with each other during the pushing portion of the leg stroke.
Another approach to the provision of swimming shoe designs has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,175 granted to J. Zimmer and U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,609 granted to W. T. Hudson. In these patents lateral thrust wings are affixed in hinged manner to the shoe sole along the central longitudinal axis of the sole or to a central plate or platform along the central longitudinal axis thereof with the swimmer's foot strapped to such plate or platform. Again, these swimming aids, applied to the swimmer's feet, are heavy, cumbersome and unwieldy and include inside lateral wings which frequently come into interfering contact with each other during the pushing portion of the leg strokes.
A still further design for foot gear for use in swimming has been proposed by P. J. Griffin in his U.S. Pat. No. 719,583 wherein lateral water thrust wings are hinged to a beam which is attached to and projects from an anklet ring worn on the swimmer's leg above each ankle. The beam on each of the swimmer's legs extends forwardly from the shin area above the ankle with the lateral wings moving outwardly above the forward portion and toes of each foot during leg thrust motion and inwardly and downwardly to the foot during the retracting portion of each leg stroke. The Griffin swimming gear requires that a strut extend from a metallic portion of a foot socket to the beam supporting the thrust wings to maintain such beam in its forwardly extending orientation from the swimmer's leg. As in the case of the previously described patented swimming aids, the Griffin gear is heavy, cumbersome and unwieldy with the inside thrust wings of each foot-borne structure often interfering with each other.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming propulsion aid for attachment to each foot of a swimmer with the aid being of light-weight construction and adapted for rapid attachment to the swimmer's foot.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pair of light-weight swimming propulsion aids for rapid attachment to the feet of an untrained or experienced swimmer to assist in propelling such swimmer through the water with a minimum of effort.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide light-weight swimming propulsion aids for rapid assembly and attachment to the feet of a swimmer in emergency situations to enable the propelling of such swimmer through the water more rapidly over greater distances with a minimum of reciprocating leg-foot stroke action and effort.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a pair of light-weight swimming propulsion aids for rapid attachment to the feet of a swimmer with such aids being oriented so as to not interfere with one another during alternating and reciprocating leg-foot stroke action by the swimmer.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following summary and detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.